China Charlie

A weekly column about living in Dongguan, for those new to Dongguan, new to China, or anyone that likes a good story.  Written by an expat  who first came to Dongguan in 1987,  hopefully this series of articles will be both entertaining and informative.

Archives:

Welcome to China Charlie

Dongguan Driving Challenges

Fun With Air Travel in China

Vertical Speed Bumps

Language and Culture

Mobile Phones and Other Stuff

Karen Carpenter, Kenny G and the Chinese Water Torture… . .

Dan Gerous, where are you when we need  you?

Life in hotels in the “old days”, a “Moon Shot”, and the saga of the pink panties….

Was There Life After M*A*S*H

Camaraderie of Dong Guan in the “old days”.. . . 

Who's on First, China Style

Life at the Ramada/Guangzhou, Resting trucks, Dynamite, and other stuff

Is Dongguan becoming too civilized?

 Roadside Word Games, China Style

Difficulties with language, cultures, and other stuff… . .

Having lived in several countries before coming to China, I’ve learned that there was a certain amount of merit in some advice given me by a Language Professor a long time ago. No, I wasn’t a student, I rented a house from him while living in a Spanish speaking country.

He used to come to the house on Saturday afternoons, and we would have some Tea and talk about the difference in our cultures. One day, I mentioned to him that I was having a heck of a time with Spanish, and he asked if I was able to get where I wanted to go and get the things I wanted. When I said yes, he asked what the problem was.

He went on to point out that “language is about communication” and if I could be mobile and accomplish what I wanted, spoken language shouldn’t get in my way. Actually, this was very good advice, and has helped me in a lot of other countries since.

One of the difficulties a lot of expats have here in China, is the difference between speaking a language and comprehending it. Common examples of this are waitresses that can greet you and recite the menu in English, but get confused when you ask for something served “on the side”. While the person may speak English, they really don’t comprehend “on the side”, and usually won’t ask for an explanation, and risk a loss of “face”.

While this can be frustrating, it can also lead to some rather “interesting” situations.

A few years ago, I was working in an office that was located in a building that was part of one of the better hotels in Guangzhou. At lunch time a group of us would go to the bar in the hotel for a “Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich” and coffee. For those not familiar with a “Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich”, it’s thin sliced fried steak with cheese, onion, and bell pepper, served on a piece of French Bread. One day, the French Bread that my sandwich was served on was extremely stale, and I called the manager (who spoke excellent English) over to the table to complain.

As I could see she couldn’t understand what I was complaining about, I picked up the table knife from the table set, and started knocking the back of the blade against the crust on the bread. She watched the crust shatter and scatter across the table for a few seconds, and walked away. When she returned, she had a Steak (sharper) Knife. All I could do was to laugh (a smile or chuckle seem to be the best approach to this kind of problem).

For you newer folks in China, unless you want to be basically in confinement here, you’ll probably need to use the local transport. Personally, I avoid using buses as much as possible (too easy for pickpockets), and for many years I’ve used taxis to get around. Believe me, I understand communicating with the drivers can be difficult. Sometimes a business card will work, but not always.

My solution is to first learn the local names of “landmarks” (Hotels, Department Stores, major street names, etc.) in the area as soon as I arrive. Then when I need a taxi, I will set in the front seat, give the driver the local name of one of my “landmarks” as close to my destination as I can get. If I know the way to the destination, when we get close, I start using hand signals to direct the driver to my final destination (I have resorted to a sketch in the palm of my hand on occasion)..

While this usually works, I have wound up at Chinese Restaurants and Department Stores while trying to get to the complex that I live in. I usually “write this off “to “Gwiloh Guangdonghua” (Foreigners Cantonese), laugh about it, and start over again.

In spite of all of this, my advice is, don’t be afraid to venture out (if you get “really lost”, get to a hotel-most have people that can direct taxi drivers to your desired destination). Also, don’t get too tense trying to communicate (if you make a mistake or are misunderstood, a smile and a chuckle will usually “loosen up” a tense situation).

A very important point to remember in China (or for that matter, any other country) is that there are some areas that foreigners are not welcome in, and there are people that really don’t like us.  When you’re out and about keep your eyes open, and watch the people around you. Generally the body language, look on the faces, and tone of the language being used around you, will give you a pretty good indication if your presence is offending someone or not. If you even suspect that your presence is not welcome, get in a taxi and go somewhere else.

Remember, unless you were born here, you’re a guest in someone else’s country and should behave as a guest

That’s about it for old Charlie this week.